This invention relates to barbecue cookers, and in particular to barbecue cookers that can be used both indoors and outdoors.
Barbecue cookers are typically made strictly for outdoor use or strictly for indoor use. Most barbecue cookers are very heavy and awkward to move, making their portability very limited. The portable barbecue cookers that are portable are usually very small, restricting the amount and type of food that can be cooked at one time. There is a desire for a cooking apparatus that can be used both indoors, such as in an indoor fireplace, and outdoors.
One aspect of the present invention is a portable cooking apparatus comprising a bottom plate sized to receive a tray receptacle, a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall, each attached to the bottom plate, with the first wall and the second wall on opposite sides of the bottom plate. The portable cooking apparatus further includes at least one support bar on each of the first and second walls for supporting a grate thereon. A grate rests on the support bars and a tray receptacle is located above the bottom plate, below the cooking grate and between the first wall and the second wall. The portable cooking apparatus is sized to be received in a fireplace and adapted to be portable and usable outdoors.
Another aspect of the present invention is a portable cooking apparatus comprising a bottom plate having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a first side, and a second side. The portable cooking apparatus further comprises a first wall attached to the bottom plate by a first hinge, where the first wall is adjacent to the first side of the bottom plate. A second wall is attached to the bottom plate by a second hinge, and the second wall is adjacent to the second side of the bottom plate. A third wall is attached to the bottom plate by a third hinge, and the third wall is adjacent to the back of the bottom plate and is also attached to the first wall and the second wall. The portable cooking apparatus further includes at least one support bar on each of the first wall and the second wall for supporting a cooking grate, and at least one cooking grate rests on each of the support bars on each of the first wall and the second wall. The first wall can be folded at the first hinge over the bottom plate, the third wall can then be folded at the third hinge over the first wall, and the second wall can be folded at the second hinge over the third wall so the cooking apparatus can be folded down for easy portability.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings.